Chicago, IL 5/17/12 -- The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) condemns a preemptive police raid that took place at approximately 11:30pm Wednesday in the Bridgeport neighborhood, and instances of harassment on the street, in which Chicago police are unlawfully detaining, searching, and questioning NATO protesters. The Bridgeport raid was apparently conducted by the Organized Crime Division of the Chicago Police Department and resulted in as many as 8 arrests.

According to witnesses in Bridgeport, police broke down a door to access a 6-unit apartment building near 32nd & Morgan Streets without a search warrant. Police entered an apartment with guns drawn and tackled one of the tenants to the floor in his kitchen. Two tenants were handcuffed for more than 2 hours in their living room while police searched their apartment and a neighboring unit, repeatedly calling one of the tenants a "Commie faggot." A search warrant produced 4 hours after police broke into the apartment was missing a judge's signature, according to witnesses. Among items seized by police in the Bridgeport raid were beer-making supplies and at least one cell phone.

"Preemptive raids like this are a hallmark of National Special Security Events," said Sarah Gelsomino with the NLG and the People's Law Office. "The Chicago police and other law enforcement agencies should be aware that this behavior will not be tolerated and will result in real consequences for the city."

In another incident, 3 plainclothes police officers unlawfully stopped, handcuffed, and searched a NATO protester on Michigan Avenue and Wacker Drive at approximately 2pm today. According to the protester, he did not consent to a search and there was no probable cause to detain him. The police also photographed and questioned him about where he was from, how he got to Chicago, how long it took, what he was doing here, where he was staying, who he was with, and how long he was planning to say in Chicago. The protester refused to answer any questions and was eventually released.

The NLG has received reports that at least 20 people have been arrested so far this week, and two people are still in custody, not including the Bridgeport residents who are still unaccounted for. One of the protesters currently being detained, Danny Johnson of Los Angeles, has been accused of assaulting a police officer during an immigrant rights rally on Tuesday afternoon. However, multiple witnesses on the scene, including an NLG Legal Observer, recorded a version of events that contradict the accusations of police.

During the week of NATO demonstrations, the NLG is staffing a legal office and answering calls from activists on the streets and in jail. The NLG will also be dispatching scores of Legal Observers to record police misconduct and representing arrestees in the event the city pursues criminal prosecutions.

The G8 Summit's coming to town and the planet's eight most powerful leaders are going to be here in our backyard to wine and dine, talk policy, and pat themselves on the backs for the great job they've done running the global economy (into the ground). You weren't invited to that party, but you're invited to this one!

Residents and radicals alike; come hang out for a fun filled day in the park and celebrate the alternatives to global capitalism, centralized power and our absurd political culture in the U.S. All are welcome! (no politicians, no police)

Don't know what the G8 is or why people protest it? Come on down and grab some Grade-A premium, hand-selected literature, or just talk to people!

Don't like the idea of a handful of sweaty rich dudes with suits and caviar dictating your quality of life and that of people all over the planet? Declare your independence, if just for a day, and maybe it'll catch on.

Forget what the G8 says, we've got community! The Counter-G8 Community Bloc Party is part of a full weekend of G8 Summit resistance events in Frederick. Be sure to check out http://www.occupyg8-2012.org for information including the Friday line-up featuring the Occupy G8 People's Summit, rallies, marches, punk shows and more.

Optional workshops
Homebrewing, Know Yer Rights, 'Neoliberalism and the G8', 'Unschooling', Car Maitenance and a bunch more! Why keep knowledge and skills to ourselves? We can share these things with each other without sharing what's in our wallets.

A Really Really Free Market
Your money's no good here! Bring clothes, CDs, tools, books, bikes, sports equippment and anything else you don't have a use for to share; somebody will use it! Sick of working to get more money to buy more stuff? Come to the Bloc Party and get your stuff directly.

"Worker's Gripes" session
There's a big difference between labor and work, and it's been said that Americans love democracy everywhere but the workplace. Whether its the boss or the boredom that gets to you most, we all have gripes about work, so let's all hang out talk about it!

"The Gripes Board"
You don't realize how many gripes we have with our current state of affairs until you actually write them all out and collect them from everyone on what is literally a gigantic board. That's the Gripes Board.

KnowDrones
There will be a large scale model authentically crafted drone replica provided by an east coast anti-drone advocacy group who will be speaking during the day. For those who don't know, these are the unmanned planes that are currently in use by the U.S. military in Afghanistan. They've recently been authorized for use in domestic airspace by the public and private sector for a variety of purposes. It's scary stuff, but don't miss hearing about it from the experts.

Direct Democracy Overview/Session
This ain't your parents' democracy, that's for sure. Ever wonder why those weird protesty kids keep wiggling their fingers all the time when they're talking? Would you believe they got the idea from the Quakers? Well, kind of, but let's figure out the details together. Come take part in a quick direct democracy/consensus decision-making overview and training, and then let's figure out a problem together and decide what we want to do about it using what we learned. (All are welcome, Frederick residents strongly encouraged)

To better empower travelers and Chicagoans new to Occupy Chicago, we are releasing the Occupy Chicago NATO/G8 Guide.

This guide:
-Provides travelers with information they need when coming into Chicago, such as how to find housing and food resources
-Provides protestors details on their legal rights, a bank of information on all the actions of Occupy Chicago's Ten Days of Action, points of contact useful to protestors, and more.
-Presents information to make it easier for new-comers to beginning working with Occupy Chicago.
-Explains often esoteric details on Occupy Chicago infrastructure, gives information on how to get involved in Occupy Chicago, and explains the History of Occupy Chicago and The Chicago Principles.

Educate, Empower, Occupy!

If you wish to print and distribute this information, please print it out in booklet format, which you can do by printing from Adobe Reader, double sided page. Under the “page scaling option” select “Booklet Printing”. This will print this information out in form that looks like a small book.